Invincible (One Direction)

Eleven: Louis Becomes a Punching Bag

Zayn

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Harry and Louis fell off one of the tallest landmarks in London. Hitting the Thames River below should've felt more like plunging into pure stone. And they survived.

Harry suddenly groans and clutches his shoulder. When I look closely, I notice that it looks slightly swollen.

"Is that...?" I start.

"Dislocated? Yeah," he winces.

"Let's get you two to the infirmary," Paul says. He gestures to Niall and I, then to Harry and Louis. I march over and help Louis to his feet, swinging one of his arms over my shoulders and placing a hand on his hip while Niall steadies a swaying Harry. With all his weight on me, we head to the infirmary.

I help Louis onto the nearest bed. Harry settles on the bed beside him. "I want to hear your story," I say.

"Yeah," Niall pipes up, leaning against the doorframe. "Tell us about it."

"I want to know too," Paul says. "But at least wait until Harry's shoulder is back in its socket."

Harry and Louis look to each other and shrug. Paul places one hand in Harry's shoulder, the other on his back. Harry winces.

"I'll count to three," Paul says. "On three I'll push."

"Just get it done," Harry replies, his voice laced with pain.

"One..."

I watch Harry squeeze both his hands into fists. His eyes close and his lips purse together.

"Two..."

Suddenly, Paul pushes and I hear a loud crack. Harry cries out and shoots Paul a glare. "What the hell happened to three?!"

Paul simply shrugs. "How's it feel?"

Harry rolls his shoulder forward and back. "Sore, but better than it did."

"I'll get you an arm sling. Keep your arm in it until about noon tomorrow, or whenever the swelling goes down." Paul walks over to a cabinet and pulls out a piece of fabric. "We'll put it on you after you change."

"I can go change now. I'm exhausted," Harry says, standing and walking to the door.

Paul chuckles. "I can imagine you are. Not many people fall off the Tower Bridge and live to tell the tale." Harry leaves as Paul takes a seat by Louis, clapping his back gently. "And you, Louis, you should've died when you fell. What happened?"

Louis' brows furrow. The kid lost consciousness, so it must be hard to reminisce on. "After I got knocked off, I just remember telling myself to push all my strength out. I didn't feel any different, and I passed out on impact, but..."

"You have invincibility," Paul says after a pause.

"What's that?" Louis asks.

"Lad, take off the top half of your uniform." As Louis unzips, wincing as he strains his arms, Paul explains, "If what you said is true, there won't be any redness, bruising, swelling, or scratching on your body."

Louis slips his arms out of the sleeves and faces away from Paul, revealing...nothing. "I don't feel like there's anything on me. Is there?"

"Nope. Just as I thought."

"Great!" Louis smiles for a second before letting it drop. "Now then, what is invincibilty, exactly?"

I step forward, ready to put my comic book knowledge to use. "You can exert your strength around your body to protect you from, well, anything. It's like an armor. Unless you stop exerting it, nothing can penetrate it. And you won't feel a thing." Then, I add with a shrug, "Well, unless its something drastic like falling off the Tower Bridge." I look to Paul, silently asking if I'm correct in my assumption; for all I know, the invincibility I know of could be different.